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Monday, June 25, 2012

My review of Before the Crash is in the latest issue of Video Game Trader, which will be out soon (my article on Alien for the Atari 2600 is also in the issue). Here's that review:

Before the Crash: Early Video Game History

Publisher: Wayne State University Press

Edited by Mark. J. P. Wolf

255 pgs. Suggested retail: $27.95.

Trade Paperback

4 out of 5 Stars

Reviewed by Brett Weiss

Before the Crash is a collection of literary essays covering the exciting world of
video games prior to the historically important (at least in terms of business
and popular culture) Great Video Game Crash of 1983, which was caused by a
number of factors, including the glut of lousy third-party software and the
increasing popularity of home computers (such as the Commodore 64).

Nintendo revived (to put it mildly) the all-but-dead North American
market for video games with the release of the NES in 1985, but that’s a subject
for another day. For now, let’s focus on a time when the word “Atari” (as
opposed to “Nintendo” or “Xbox”) was synonymous with video games.

Some argue that there are too many books on classic gaming being
published these days, which is a ridiculous assertion. For every book about
classic video games, there are thousands covering old movies, music, and
television. With its emphasis on under-reported aspects of the industry, Before the Crash proves there can never
be too much of a good thing, at least when it comes to books about our favorite
hobby.

The variety of subject matter in Before the Crash is truly impressive, offering deep (relative to
the subject matter), insightful commentary on such divergent topics as reading the
Atari catalog, early video game audio, “The Rise and Fall of Cinematronics,”
the Fairchild Channel F system (20 pages on the vilified progenitor of the
Atari VCS!), and early online gaming in the form of BBSs and MUDs.

Mark. J. P. Wolf, who compiled this collection of essays, writes
about The Video Game Industry Crash of 1977 while Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Videogames author Leonard Herman
contributes a chapter on ball-and-paddle consoles. Both are interesting,
largely untapped subjects that most any video game fan with an appreciation for
the past will thoroughly enjoy reading about.

One caveat: As mentioned in the first sentence in the first
paragraph of this review, Before the
Crash is a literary work, meaning
the text can get abstruse at times, at least for the average reader without a PhD
in cultural history or critical studies (to name the qualifications of two of
the contributors to this book).

For those wanting a scholarly work on the pre-NES era of video
games, especially one reporting on esoteric aspects of the industry and
intelligently placing said aspects within their context, Before the Crash: Early Video Game History is well worth picking
up.

Monday, June 18, 2012

(Photo courtesy of Rob O'Hara).

Another OVGE has come and gone, and, as always, I had a great time. I sold more stuff than ever this year, including lots of books. Many of the attendees stayed all day, playing arcade and console games, entering tournaments, returning to the booths to buy more stuff (always a plus), and, best of all, hanging out and talking and laughing. Already looking forward to next year. Thanks to everyone who made the weekend a blast, including Jesse, Ed, Brandon, Jeff, Sean, Holt, Delf, and too many others to name.

Oh, and I checked my email on the way home and discovered I got a new freelance writing gig (more TBA).

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

My article on the Oklahoma Video Game Exhibition appeared in the latest issue of AntiqueWeek. Here's that article reprinted:

Founder and organizer
Jesse Hardesty setting up a display at a previous Oklahoma Video Game
Exhibition.

Oklahoma Video Game Exhibition

by Brett Weiss

TULSA, OK—Do the words “Pac-Man,” “Space Invaders” and “Donkey
Kong” immediately transport you back to a simpler time (the early 1980s), when playing
video games was all about munching dots, shooting aliens, climbing ladders and
jumping over obstacles? Do you miss the Golden Age of home consoles and coin-op
classics, such as the Atari 2600 and Frogger?

If so, then you might consider attending the Oklahoma Video Game Exhibition,
a daylong tribute to gaming’s glorious past. Held at the prestigious Spirit
Bank Event Center, OVGE celebrates the history, hobby, collecting and
entertainment aspects of the industry, giving nostalgia buffs, casual gamers
and hardcore fans alike a gathering place to buy, sell, trade, talk about and
otherwise obsess over video games.

In addition to vendors selling classic video games and related
merchandise (T-shirts, books, keychains, action figures, and the like) , OVGE
will have numerous video game systems, arcade games and vintage computers set
up on free-play. Tournaments, door prizes, book signings and a trivia contest
(hosted by nintendo-okie.com) add to the fun.

Most retro video game get-togethers, such as the Classic Gaming
Expo (Las Vegas, NE) and the Midwest Gaming Classic (Brookfield, WI), are held
out west or up north, but OVGE gives gamers living in such states as Oklahoma, Arkansas,
Kansas, Missouri, and Texas a chance to congregate and compete without racking
up too much mileage on the family truckster.

“Before OVGE, people from the surrounding states had to travel
across the country for a classic video game convention,” said Jesse Hardesty,
founder and organizer of the event.

One question remains: Why would anyone want to play old, outdated,
technologically inferior video games when there are so many new ones available for
such powerful consoles as the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360?

Albert Yarusso, co-founder of AtariAge.com, thinks he has the
answer: “Even though modern game systems have amazing graphics and sounds, the
most important aspect of any video game is that it actually be fun to play,” he
said. “Because classic game systems, like the Atari 2600, had very simple
graphics, game designers had to focus on the gameplay. Those same games that were
fun in the late 1970s and early ’80s are still just as much fun today.”

Hardesty chipped in his two-cents as well, citing the appeal of
classic games’ “pick-up-and-play philosophy that makes for quick gaming without
the need to invest in the large amounts of time that many of today's games
require.”

A family-friendly affair, the Oklahoma Video Game Exhibition
encourages gamers of all ages to take a fun trip down memory lane. “With video
gaming being today’s main form of home entertainment, the history behind it
should not be forgotten,” Hardesty said. “The Oklahoma Video Game Exhibition is
providing the youth of today and their parents a chance to visit and interact
with that past.”

Monday, June 4, 2012

The
follow-up to DK Arcade (also known as
D1K Arcade), which was a stunningly complete
rendition of Donkey Kong (1981), D2K Arcade is nothing less than the best
home version of the coin-op classic every released for any system.

There are two game modes in this immensely
satisfying, professionally produced cartridge (no recycled materials were used), the first of which (Game 1,
natch) is an excellent rendition of Donkey
Kong (the same as D1K Arcade), complete with intro, intermissions, and all four levels of play:
Barrels (a.k.a. Girders), Pie Factory (a.k.a. Conveyor Belt), Elevators, and
Rivets.

Yes,
that’s right, ColecoVision and NES owners, your versions of the
game—with their missing screen (Pie Factory) and lack of interstitial
animations—now take a back seat this classy new cartridge (though, to be fair, the CV and NES versions have better graphics). And don’t get me
started on the two-screen abomination that was Coleco’s Donkey Kong for the Intellivision, which galled gamers with its
clumsy controls, ugly graphics, and tortured sound effects.

Speaking
of audiovisuals, D2K Arcade looks and
sounds better than it has any right to. From the “How high can you get?” text
mantra to DK falling on his head (with eyes bulging) at the end of the Rivets
screen, D2K Arcade captures virtually
everything that made the original a great, fun, challenging, cartoon-like
classic. (Nitpickers may point out that the blocky, mono-colored damsel in
distress is only slightly more appealing in appearance than homely Mabel in the
otherwise excellent Beauty and the Beast,
but this is a small gripe).

In addition to the standard Donkey Kong port, D2K Arcade features
an indispensable, incredibly cool Game 2 (the default mode, since it's the primary selling point of the cartridge), which consists of five new game boards (plus two
standard Donkey Kong levels), each of
which incorporates classic components (along with some new elements), but
arranges them in decidedly different ways for new challenges and thrills. New
screens include: Twisted Girders, The Mixer, The Refinery, Triple Elevators, and
The Eliminator.

Another
admirable, depth-infusing addition to D2K
Arcade is the inclusion of three selectable characters. There’s Mario, of
course, but gamers can now play as: Toni (Mario’s younger brother), who runs
fast; and Bruno (Mario’s older brother), who’s a little slow, but can climb
ladders while holding a hammer! For those of you wondering, Mario’s “real”
fraternal twin brother, Luigi, does not appear. (In terms of visuals, Toni and
Bruno are merely palette-swapped Marios).

I find it extremely rewarding to play new games for
old systems, especially ones as high in quality asD2K Arcade, which has crisp
controls (even with the sometimes-problematic Intellivision control disc),
stunning graphics, faithfully recreated sound effects (plus some added
surprises—the game talks WITHOUT AN INTELLIVOICE), and endless hours of entertaining
and challenging gameplay. Excellent production values for the packaging (box,
color manual, labeled cartridge, keypad overlay) add to the fun and
collectability of this quality release

If
you’re like me and still have an Intellivision, I can’t recommend D2K Arcade highly enough.

Friday, June 1, 2012

In Classic Gamer Magazine Vol. 3 #1, I was interviewed by Chris "Cav" Cavanaugh, my friend and former editor at the All Game Guide. Here is that that interview (conducted in 2010), reprinted for your perusal:

Pop culture expert Brett Weiss has written numerous articles that have
appeared in the Comics Buyer’s Guide, Fangoria, Allgame.com,
and past issues of Classic Gamer Magazine.
Brett recently authored two books: Classic
Home Video Games: 1972-1984 and Classic
Home Video Games: 1985-1988 and agreed to talk to us about the challenges of writing, getting
published, and how mowing lawns is good for the game collector’s soul.

CGM: Convincing a major book publisher to publish a book isn’t
easy. Can you tell us how the initial deal happened? Did you approach them or
was it the other way around?

WEISS: McFarland Publishers, which publishes a variety of scholarly
entertainment books, had a booth at Comic-Con International in San Diego in 2006,
and I introduced myself to one of their editors. I gave her a business card and
told her to contact me if I could contribute to any of their books. Three days after I returned home, I received an email from
that editor, asking me if I had any interesting book ideas. I quickly pounded
out a proposal and some sample entries, emphasizing that a book like mine had
never been done before: descriptions/reviews/data for every single game for
every U.S.-released classic programmable system. They approved the idea pretty
quickly.

During the early-to mid-1990s, I worked up a proposal for a similar
book, but I couldn’t find a publisher.

CGM: How much influence does the publisher have on content? Did you
have to make

sacrifices?

WEISS: The publisher was very receptive to my original proposal,
and both books are pretty much exactly like I conceived and wrote them. During
the editors’ meeting, my proposal was approved unanimously. They loved the nostalgic
content, the quality of the writing, and the comprehensive nature of the books.
The only sticking point was their insistence on spelling the word “videogame” as
two words.

CGM: What are the challenges associated with writing these books?

WEISS: Condensing a long RPG or point-and-click adventure down to a
clear and concise, yet detailed overview. Trudging through horrible games.
Getting far enough into really hard games to describe and review them accurately
and fairly. The sheer exhaustion of having to write about the games in addition
to playing them. Not having enough time to play new games because I’m so busy
with the old systems.

Luckily, I largely prefer older games, but I’d love to have enough
time and energy to pick up a PS3 and play through God of War III and Batman:
Arkham Asylum. On the other hand, I love discovering obscure gems that I had
never played before, such as the wildly inventive and hugely entertaining
Killer Bees! for the Odyssey2. That was the last game I wrote about for my
first book—I had to buy the game on eBay.

CGM: What was their reasoning for wanting to release the books in
hardcover? Did you try to convince them otherwise? Do you think the decision has helped or
hurt sales?

WEISS: I had absolutely no say in the matter. I was flattered that
the books were published in hardcover, but I have met resistance by some potential buyers
because of the hardcover pricing. On the other hand, everyone I’ve talked to who
has bought either book is very happy with their purchase(s). People tell me
they refer to my books again and again, and that’s the best compliment I could
ever get. I’m also frequently told that the books are well written, which is always good to hear.

CGM: Is there talk about making these books available in paperback?

WEISS: Nothing yet, but hopefully some day. (NOTE: Classic Home
Video Games, 1972-1984 and Classic Home Video Games, 1985-1988 have since come
out in softcover).

CGM: What percentage of research goes into your books vs. how much
you just know off the top of your head?

WEISS: I wouldn’t quite say that the books wrote themselves, but I have
been playing these games nonstop since they came out. The first system I
actually owned was a ColecoVision when I was 15, but prior to the release of
the ColecoVision, I was constantly going over to friends’ and relatives’ houses
to play their systems. In fact, my two best friends each had a Fairchild
Channel F of all things.

After I got my ColecoVision for Christmas of 1982 (I actually had
to kick in $100 of my lawn mowing money to make it happen), I began collecting
games like crazy (my second system was an Atari 2600 with 10 games that I
bought off a classmate

for the incredibly low price of $10).

I would get new systems as they would come out, but I never got rid
of my older systems. I simply kept adding to them as I would find older games
on clearance and at garage sales, flea markets, and thrift stores. Despite my familiarity
with old games, I still do tons of research to make sure I get everything as accurate
as possible, and to refresh my memory for games I haven’t played in a long time.

CGM: Do you use any magazines or websites for research? Which ones?

WEISS: Thanks to their
instruction manual scans, AtariAge and Nintendo Age were absolutely invaluable when I was writing my first two books. As everyone
knows, it’s much tougher to find manuals than game cartridges. I also used gamefaqs
walkthroughs a few times when I had trouble getting past a certain area or level
in a particularly hard or confusing game.

Digital Press has been helpful as well. When a game’s manual or
title screen doesn’t mention who the developer is, and when various websites
have conflicting information, I sometimes ask on the Digital Press message
boards, and I usually get a response. Of course, I will then do more research
to determine if the information they gave me is accurate.

CBG: Just to get inside your head a little bit, can you tell us
about what goes into your writing process?

WEISS: I play the games in
the evening and wake up early the next morning--oftentimes as early as 3 or 4 a.m.—to write about them. Prior to sitting down to
my desk, I’ll fire up a steaming hot cup of Earl Grey tea. I tried Earl Grey
back when Captain Picard would order it from the food replicator on Star Trek:
The Next Generation (yes, I’m a geek), and quickly became addicted to it.

I’ve been a freelance writer for almost 20 years, so I’ve got a
pretty good routine in place. Comfortable pants/shorts and a good, sturdy chair
that supports the back are absolutely essential. I write most every morning (and
most afternoons), but I sometimes take Saturday morning off if my kids get up when
I do.

CGM: How long did it take to write each of the books?

WEISS: The first book took about a year. Classic Home Video Games, 1985-1988 took over two years, partly
because most of the games from that era are longer and more complex.

CGM: How has the feedback been from those who've purchased the
books? Have there been any interesting suggestions?

WEISS: The feedback has largely been terrific. Both books have reviewed
extremely well. The most frequent comment I get is that people use the books when
they are looking to purchase some older games they may enjoy. This is followed
closely by people using the books because they can’t remember a specific fact about
a particular game, or just because they’re fun to flip through. Some readers comment
that they wish the photos were in color, but that is entirely up to the
publisher.

CGM: Approximately how many copies have the books sold?

WEISS: I would tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. I can tell
you that the first book has almost sold through its first printing, which is
nice. With the new book, it’s too early to tell.

CGM: What era of gaming do you enjoy most and why?

WEISS: While I’ve had a truly great time with such titles as Halo, God of War, Wii Sports,
and Burnout, my favorite games are
from the late ’70s and early ’80s. Games like Dig Dug, Galaga, Super Pac-Man, Zoo Keeper and Phoenix
are simple, but challenging, intense, strategic, and endlessly replayable. Mr. Do! is my all-time favorite game. I still
keep records of my highest scores on many of my favorite old games (again, the geek
factor rears its ugly head).

CGM: In another interview, you said that your favorite platform was
the ColecoVision. Of all the platforms you've written about, what makes the ColecoVision so
special in your eyes?

WEISS: I love how Coleco took such second (and third) tier arcade games
as Frenzy, Carnival, Lady Bug, Pepper II, Space Panic, Slither, and
Mouse Trap, emulated them beautifully,
and made them available for home play. These were great games that were unfairly
overlooked until they made it into gamers’ living rooms. Since you could play the
games again and again without having to put in a quarter every time, you could take
the time to truly discover how great these games were. Plus, there are great
third-party titles like Jumpman Junior
and Miner 2049’er. Some complain
about the controllers, but I like them.

My favorite modern system is the PS2, partly because of its many arcade
classics collections, but also because of some great modern games like Lumines, REZ, and Maximo: Ghosts to
Glory.

CGM: Can you tell us anything about the third book you are currently
writing?

WEISS: Absolutely! It will cover the Genesis, Neo Geo, and TurboGrafx-16.
Hopefully, it will be out some time in mid-late 2011. (NOTE: Classic Home Video Games, 1989-1990: A
Complete Guide to Sega Genesis, Neo Geo and TurboGrafx-16 Games was
published in Aug., 2011).

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About Me

A freelance writer, I'm the author of the Classic Home Video Games book series, The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987, and Retro Pop Culture A-Z: From Atari 2600 to Zombie Films. I've had articles published in numerous magazines and newspapers, including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Filmfax, Fangoria, AntiqueWeek, The Writer, Mystery Scene, and more.
Contact me at brettw105 AT sbcglobal.net.